Lois Lowry is an American author of almost 20 books for young readers. She has received awards like the Newbery Medals for her books Number the Stars (1989 and The Giver (1993).  She has written and published books since the 1970s. She has also written the trilogy of The Giver, Gathering Blue and Messenger, Anastasia Krupnik, A Summer to Die, Autumn Street and Rabble Starkey.

Fact 1:

Lois Lowry is the pen name of Lois Ann Hammersberg. She was born on March 20, 1937 in Honolulu, Hawaii. She decided that she wanted to be a writer when she was only eight or nine years old .

Lowry married at a young age of nineteen to a naval officer when she just finished her sophomore year in college. However, the marriage ended in 1977 when she was forty years old. She met her second husband and had a blissful married life of thirty years until her husband’s death in 2011. She had a son, Grey, a fighter pilot for the US Air Force, who sadly died when his fighter plane crashed in 1995 .

Fact 2:

Lois Lowry is one of the 28 authors and 29 illustrators from 34 countries who made it to the final lists for the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Awards by the National Sections of the International Board on Books For Young People.

The Hans Christian Andersen Award is the highest international honor given to authors and illustrators of children’s book. The said award is given yearly by the International Board on Books For Young People to authors and illustrators who had made a lasting contribution to children’s books .

Fact 3:

Lowry’s book subjects depict real life situations. She has covered numerous subject matters on her novels such as adoption, mental illness, cancer, the Holocaust and futuristic scenes.

Such subject matters are to help young readers confront the real life situations and imperfections. According to her, her success as an author can be measured when she is able to , “help adolescents answer their own questions about life, identity and human relationships” .

Fact 4:

Lois Lowry’s book The Giver has been adapted to a movie last 2014 with Brenton Thwaites as Jonas; Jeff Bridges as the main character and Meryl Streep as the Chief Elder.

The Giver book revolves around the story about a world where everyone takes drugs to suppress their memories and emotions .

Fact 5:

Lowry’s first book, A Summer To Die is a fiction referring to the death of her sister and the effects of the loss to a family. Number the Stars also depicts the loss but  in a different time and culture . Autumn Street was based on her traumatic experience of having her childhood friend murdered; Crow Call was based on her father’s return from the Pacific after World War 2 when she was eight years old. The Birthday Ball was based on a typical fairy tale story of a princess seeking love .

Fact 6:

Lois Lowry is now based in Cambridge, Massachusetts living alone while writing. She is accompanied by her pets, a Tibetan Terrier named Alfie and a cat named Lulu.  She also owns a farmhouse dated back in 1768 with meadows and flower gardens.

Fact 7:

Aside from writing, Lois Lowry also enjoys gardening during summer and spring and knitting during winter. She is also into photography where her own photos grace the covers of her books- Number the Stars, The Giver and Gathering Blue.

Fact 8:

Jeff Bridges, who starred in The Giver  movie has brought the movie rights to the book 18 years before The Giver made it to the big screen. His intention was to direct the movie with his father, Lloyd Bridges, play the main character. Years passed but the plan never materialized, however, Jeff Bridges never lost hope until finally the novel was made into a movie with him doing the main role .

Fact 9:

Lois Lowry started her college education at Brown University and later on got her English degree from the University of Southern Maine. She is a professional photographer and writer.

Fact 10:

There were 22,000 books used to film The Giver of Lois Lowry. The books were bought from used bookstores. After the movie, the books were donated to schools .